A pygmy sperm whale that beached itself and died in Shelburne Harbour last week provided a great learning opportunity for staff and students at Charlottetown's Atlantic Veterinary College.

Efforts to save the whale failed, and it was sent to AVC for a necropsy. Pygmy sperm whales are rare around Nova Scotia; it was the first one marine mammal specialist Pierre-Ives Daoust had ever seen. The incident was not only a learning opportunity, but will add to the scientific literature on this elusive creature.